Many people have childhood memories of playing three-on-three basketball governed by street rules on an outdoor court.

Dreams of playing in the Olympics, however, were saved for the hard court as three-on-three was just considered ‘street ball’.

Yet over the last decade, three-on-three basketball has grown to feature world championship and World Cup events and in 2020, the game will make its Olympic debut.

“I was a loud voice in believing this would be an Olympic sport. I saw the trend of other Olympic sports being splintered into sub sports and I felt it could work with basketball,” said Basketball Alberta executive director Paul Sir. “I’m not blown away how much it’s grown and I truly believe it will really take off and grow even faster when people see it as an Olympic sport. It will change the way people perceive the game.”

Sir has made a strong commitment of growing three-on-three basketball at the grassroots level in Alberta.

For the past eight years, every child who takes part in a basketball camp will learn the three-on-three game. They hold exclusive three-on-three camps and tournaments every year.

“I was able to get involved in finding out what FIBA’s long-term vision was for three-on-three. I felt the moment FIBA set its goal of three-on-three being an Olympic sport, that we wanted to be at the forefront of really pushing three-on-three basketball in our community,” said Sir.

Last weekend at M.E. Lazerte high school, on one of the hottest days of 2018, the school gymnasium was packed with over 50 students of all ages playing three-on-three basketball.

Games are played on a half court using one basket. It’s an excellent way for kids to learn skill development. They get to handle and shoot the ball more often and there are plenty of opportunities for one-on-one play. The game is essentially played with few systems in place.

“It’s a more pure form of the game, and it really focuses on the fundamentals of what basketball is designed to do,” said Sir. “It de-emphasizes the system play in basketball and everyone having a role. There should be no roles in this game.”

Edmonton has become a mecca for three-on-three basketball. Over the summer, the city will play host to multiple world-class tournaments including the 3-on-3 Canada Quest tournament at the Saville Community Sports Centre, June 2-3.

It’s expected close to 120 teams and 500 players will take part in the adult, U-17, U-15, U-13, U-11 and wheelchair divisions.

Sir estimates that enrollment in basketball has grown in upwards of 20 to 30 per cent across the province over the last eight years and credits the growth to introducing kids to the three-on-three game.

“I’m hoping to see at the grassroots level that you don’t start playing five-on-five until you’re 11 to 13-years-old. I think it’s a mistake to have little kids running up and down the floor wasting so much energy running and not touching the ball. It would really help with their growth in their skill development playing in a three-on-three environment,” said Sir. “Kids are having a lot more fun because they’re getting to handle the ball more. All we’ve seen is positive outcomes of this. I think it’s a sport that’s a gift for people who love basketball.”

Sir is working to integrate three-on-three basketball into Alberta high schools.

This past year, they had pilot projects at two different Edmonton high schools, showcasing the sport to students who have had no experience playing varsity sports and received positive feedback.

Basketball Alberta is also in discussions with the Edmonton Metro High School League to explore a pilot program to create a three-on-three league.

“We want kids in schools to have that opportunity to play the game. We would develop three-on-three teams among the schools and make it a inter-scholastic sport, and the schools would play amongst each other,” said Sir.

The next step would be to build into into a high school sport all across the province.

“One day in the near future, we want it to be a provincial sport at the high school level,” said Sir. “The sport of three-on-three basketball has given kids a wider accessibility into the game, and that plays a big role in growing our sport.”

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